When the Edmonton Oilers selected defenseman Darnell Nurse seventh overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, they probably weren’t expecting him to crack their roster until the 2014-15 season, if not later. That doesn’t mean that the blueliner isn’t shooting for a role with the big club.

“Everyone wants to play as fast as possible,” Nurse said. “Playing last year probably wouldn’t have been the best for my development, and you probably take it a little harder when you first get sent down but for me I’m just going to put myself in a position where I’m in the best shape possible and as strong as I can be when September rolls around.”

“I’m close. For sure. I’ve been pushing myself this year to different lengths than I ever have.”

That same article notes that he’s bumped his weight up from 190 to about 205 lbs. thanks to an offseason that’s been friendlier to training than his first summer in the Oilers organization.

A logjam on D?

Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins seems open-minded about the idea, although he also seems leery of setting players up for failure by rushing them too soon. (Some Oilers fans might be sadly nodding their heads right now, as many believe that the organization has been guilty of doing just that in the past.)

There’s also the question of whether the 19-year-old would be better served as a lower-pairing or even seventh defenseman with the Oilers or by gaining another year of experience at the junior level. Add that conundrum to the drive not to burn a year off of his entry-level deal and it’s easy to see why Edmonton might want to take the slow-and-steady approach.

I see what they did there in the title… Not using his full name and all.

ray2013 - Jul 6, 2014 at 6:20 AM

He should have the confidence to make it, but I doubt he’d even be the first call-up. There’s another highly touted dman named Klefbom who is trying to break in. He would have to be something special to beat out Klefbom and one of those established players.